Stronger exports and a surging euro currency sent the euro zone's current account balance of payments into surplus last year, the European Central Bank said today.
The surplus for 2002 was €62.0 billion - in contrast tothe shortfall of €13.8 billion the year before.
The shift, equivalent to 1.0 per cent of the 12-nation euroarea's gross domestic product, resulted from a 2.4 per centincrease in exports and a 3.4 per cent drop in imports, which led to a substantial increase in the net surplus on traded goods, the ECB said.
Over that period, the euro has risen by over 17.9 per centagainst the dollar, making imports cheaper.
It was the first current account surplus for theregion since the euro currency was launched in 1999, although in 1998 the equivalent region had a €60.3 billion surplus,according to ECB figures.
But analysts doubt the sizeable improvement can besustained.